When Irene said that she was gay…

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Posted by BrettHolmes
July 25, 2014 12:31 am
#1

I interpreted it two ways

A. That she isn’t and just said that as a way to hide how she really felt about Sherlock in her conversation with John.   

OR                                                           

B. She is actually bisexual and it ends up that Sherlock is the first man that she ever found attractive. She may have prefered women but Sherlock was an exception.

Either way, the final “I AM SHERLOCKED” revelation certainly indicates she felt something for him, sexual or otherwise on some level.

Last edited by BrettHolmes (July 25, 2014 6:05 pm)

 
Posted by Liberty
July 25, 2014 5:48 am
#2

Yes,  or possibly C. One swallow doesn't make a summer and she could have one attraction to one guy and still be gay.   But yes, she was attracted to him.   She hints that she was attracted to the female royal, but she was a customer.  She breaks up a marriage by having an affair with both partners (I can't remember if they specified male and female, but gay marriage is quite recent in the UK), so could have been attracted to both ... or acting attraction for other purposes (as she does with Sherlock, except she really IS attracted to him!).

I don't think she's trying to hide that she feels something for Sherlock in her conversation with John (the opposite, perhaps.   And I can never work out if she knows Sherlock is listening - seeing John is a message to Sherlock and she may have assumed that Sherlock would follow him).  But why say that she's gay, when she's about to try to seduce Sherlock?  Maybe it really is just a moment of honesty. 

I'm not keen on the idea that Sherlock is so devastatingly attractive that sexual orientation is immaterial!   So in my head, I go with a version of A (she's lying for some unknown purpose).

Last edited by Liberty (July 25, 2014 5:49 am)

 
Posted by BreathingIsBoring
July 25, 2014 7:07 am
#3

I'm leaning towards B, given her profession. She started out the way she did because she felt sexual attraction towards men and women, otherwise she wouldn't have offered her services to both. 

In regards to her statement, I think she was trying to imply that John really did feel affection for Sherlock; let's admit it, she shipped them from the get-go, with the lines about not punching Sherlock's nose and teeth ('Somebody loves you.'). I think she's saying, 'And I am. Look at us both,' and meaning, 'look at us poor people, in love with this man and defying our own standards.' But hey, that's just me. 


_________________________________________
Life is always more interesting when one escalates sibling rivalry to that of a minor land war.

 
Posted by Mattlocked
July 25, 2014 7:27 am
#4

John says "I'm not gay."
Irene says "Well, I am - now look at us both."

She want's to point out what Sherlock can do/did to them - they both don't love men, but nevertheless are attracted to Sherlock. 


__________________________________

"After all this time?" "Always."
Good bye, Lord Rickman of the Alan
 
Posted by Liberty
July 25, 2014 7:27 am
#5

Yes, I think there was something in that "couple" comment, showing John that he does have a special relationship with Sherlock.  (Although I'm not sure what her agenda is there.  And I do think she does have an agenda at this meeting.  She didn't just fancy a chat with John).

I wouldn't read too much into her choice of clients.  It's paid work, and I believe most buyers are male (and as a sad reflection of our society, maybe, most of the people in powerful positions that she keeps information from are probably male).   It's good business to target the male market.  She doesn't have to be attracted to the clients any more than other sex workers have to be attracted to theirs.  And the service probably doesn't include sex (although I do think it's a sexual service).   She doesn't even need to be sexually dominant herself (although I think she is). 

So that aspect doesn't give us much of a clue.   There really aren't many clues at all.  I even wondered if like Sherlock, she sees the whole thing as a weakness, and he is her exception, as she is his.  Not sure about that one, though.

(Edited yet again, for atrocious typos.  Sorry.  I keep doing that).

Last edited by Liberty (July 25, 2014 5:34 pm)

 
Posted by tonnaree
July 25, 2014 11:43 am
#6

Mattlocked wrote:

John says "I'm not gay."
Irene says "Well, I am - now look at us both."

She want's to point out what Sherlock can do/did to them - they both don't love men, but nevertheless are attracted to Sherlock.

 
I think it's just this simple.


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Proud President and Founder of the OSAJ.  
Honorary German  
"Anyone who takes himself too seriously always runs the risk of looking ridiculous; anyone who can consistently laugh at himself does not".
 -Vaclav Havel 
"Life is full of wonder, Love is never wrong."   Melissa Ethridge

I ship it harder than Mrs. Hudson.
    
 
 
Posted by maryagrawatson
July 25, 2014 2:26 pm
#7

One thing I can say about Irene from actually knowing a dominatrix is that Mycroft/Mark Gatiss got something very wrong: it has nothing to do with sex. It's all about power. So her orientation would have nothing to do with her choice of clients. I believe that she is gay and the only reason she claims to want Sherlock is because she wants to dominate/have power over him.

Mary


John: That's clever. So you scratch their backs and...
Sherlock: Yes. And then disinfect myself.
 
Posted by BreathingIsBoring
July 25, 2014 4:09 pm
#8

maryagrawatson wrote:

One thing I can say about Irene from actually knowing a dominatrix is that Mycroft/Mark Gatiss got something very wrong: it has nothing to do with sex. It's all about power. So her orientation would have nothing to do with her choice of clients. I believe that she is gay and the only reason she claims to want Sherlock is because she wants to dominate/have power over him.

Mary

She is attracted to him in the end, though. You can't forcefully speed up your own pulse and make your eyes dilate, and she certainly wouldn't have done it of her own free will, seeing as it proved to be her greatest weakness. 


_________________________________________
Life is always more interesting when one escalates sibling rivalry to that of a minor land war.

 
Posted by Sherlockismyfix
July 26, 2014 9:48 pm
#9

I think Mattlock's analysis nailed it.  Neither is attracted to men, but both are attracted to Sherlock.  Although I stand by my belief that's John's attraction is platonic.

Not so with Irene.  What she sees in Sherlock is the mirror of herself: deviously clever and willing to use others for their own ends.  It is a rare thing for each of them to meet someone who stands as their equal.    I think they are fascinated with each other; each gets bored, and each loves playing games. As Irene points out, and is echoed throughout ASIB, "Brainy is the new sexy."  They are drawn to each other in spite of themselves, and each, as we see makes a critical error as a result: Sherlock in allowing himself to believe she just wanted protection and decoding the email to impress her; and Irene in showing her hand by trying to seduce Sherlock, allowing him to figure out her phone code.


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I had bad days!


 
 


 
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